Best Free Cloud Storage in 2026: Four Free Plans, Tested
pCloud advertises 10 GB free, MEGA 20, Google Drive 15 and Proton Drive 5. On real free accounts, MEGA's 20 GB holds but its bonus space expires after a year, Google's 15 GB is shared with Gmail and Photos, and pCloud's 10 GB is a checklist with 4 GB behind inviting friends. Proton Drive is the smallest — and the only one of the four that lets a free account put a password on a share link.
Every free cloud storage plan leads with a number. pCloud says 10 GB, MEGA says 20 GB, Google Drive says 15 GB and Proton Drive says 5 GB. We opened a free account on each in September 2026 and checked two things on the account itself, not the pricing page: how much of that space is really yours, and whether you can put a password on a share link.
The short answer: MEGA gives you the most space that stays. Google Drive's is real but shared with your email and photos. pCloud's is a to-do list. And Proton Drive, the smallest, is the only one of the four that lets a free account lock a link with a password.
Which free cloud storage gives you the most space?
- MEGA — 20 GB. A brand new free account reads "0 B of 20 GB used". That space carries no expiry.
- Google Drive — 15 GB, but it is one allowance for Google Drive, Gmail and Google Photos together.
- pCloud — up to 10 GB, if you complete its unlock tasks. Our account showed 4 GB.
- Proton Drive — 5 GB, exactly what the account shows: "0 bytes / 5.00 GB".
Does MEGA's bonus storage expire?
Yes. Under Unlock bonus storage, MEGA offers 5 GB at a time for installing its desktop app, installing its phone app, starting a MEGA VPN or MEGA Pass free trial, and for each friend who installs a MEGA app. The line at the top of that dialog reads: "Achievements are valid for 365 days." The base 20 GB stays; anything you earn on top of it goes away a year later. If your files grow into that extra space, plan for the day it shrinks back.
MEGA's free plan also has a download limit that has nothing to do with storage — see what actually resets MEGA's download limit.
Is Google Drive's 15 GB really 15 GB?
It is 15 GB, but not 15 GB of files. Google's own storage page says the allowance is shared across Google Drive, Gmail and Google Photos, so your inbox and your phone's photo backups count against it. That is why a nearly empty Google Drive can report itself full — we walk through it in Google Drive full but empty.
Why does pCloud say 10 GB free when my account has less?
Because the 10 GB is a checklist. pCloud's Unlock Free Storage panel read "4 of 10 free GB unlocked" on our account and lists what is left:
- Get the pCloud Desktop app — 1 GB
- Get the pCloud Mobile app — 1 GB
- Turn automatic upload on — 1 GB
- Verify email — 1 GB
- Upload a file — 1 GB
- Invite friends — 4 GB, one for each of four friends who sign up
Almost half of the advertised free plan depends on getting other people to join. At the time of testing pCloud was also showing a promotional banner offering more free storage for installing its app; we did not test that offer. More in our pCloud review.
Which free cloud storage lets you password-protect a share link?
Of the four, only Proton Drive. We shared the same file from each account and went looking for a password:
- Proton Drive: the public link's Set password or expiration date screen has two switches, an expiry date and a password, and both work on the free plan. We set a password and saved it.
- pCloud: the link settings offer password protection and an expiration date, and both are marked as a Premium feature.
- MEGA: in Link settings, "Set expiry date" and "Set password" are both badged Pro only. The one free option is to send the link's decryption key separately, so the address alone will not open the file.
- Google Drive: there is no password option at all. The share dialog offers who can open the file — restricted, or anyone with the link — and what they can do with it. Nothing expires.
If a link could end up forwarded to someone it was not meant for, that difference matters more than a few gigabytes. Proton Drive's plans and security features are on its provider page.
Which free cloud storage plan should you pick?
Pick by the job, not the headline number.
- The most space that stays yours: MEGA's 20 GB — just don't count the bonus.
- Already living in Google: Google Drive's 15 GB is convenient, as long as Gmail and Google Photos leave room.
- Sharing files that should stay private: Proton Drive — the least space here, and the only free plan of the four with a password and expiry on links.
- pCloud: fine for moving a file to someone, but budget for the space you actually have, not the space you could unlock.
Other providers' free plans — and how each one handles encryption — are in the comparison below, and in our free cloud storage data.
| Plan | Price | Storage | Zero-knowledge | E2EE | Verified | Visit provider |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MEGA Free
|
Free | 20 GB | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | Visit | |
Filen Free
|
Free | 10 GB | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | Visit | |
Icedrive Free
|
Free | 10 GB | — | — | Visit | |
pCloud Free
|
Free | Up to 10 GB | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | Visit | |
Proton Drive Free
|
Free | 5 GB | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | Visit | |
Sync Free
|
Free | 5 GB | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | Visit |
Full video transcript
1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,993
pCloud says ten gigabytes free. MEGA
says twenty. Google Drive, fifteen.
2
00:00:05,033 --> 00:00:06,321
Proton Drive, five.
3
00:00:06,361 --> 00:00:10,445
I opened a free account on each
one and checked two things:
4
00:00:10,485 --> 00:00:13,171
how much of that space is really yours,
5
00:00:13,211 --> 00:00:16,736
and whether you can put a
password on a share link.
6
00:00:16,776 --> 00:00:18,734
Only one of the four let me.
7
00:00:19,134 --> 00:00:22,771
pCloud first. It advertises
ten gigabytes free.
8
00:00:23,730 --> 00:00:29,140
This is a free pCloud account. Open
the profile. Four gigabytes, not ten.
9
00:00:29,725 --> 00:00:32,623
The rest of the ten is behind this panel.
10
00:00:32,987 --> 00:00:37,047
A gigabyte each for installing
two apps, turning on photo upload,
11
00:00:37,087 --> 00:00:39,800
verifying your email,
and uploading a file.
12
00:00:40,567 --> 00:00:43,814
And four gigabytes for getting
four friends to sign up.
13
00:00:43,854 --> 00:00:48,456
The ten gigabytes are a to-do list, and
almost half of it needs other people.
14
00:00:49,292 --> 00:00:54,107
Now the test every plan gets in this
video. A password on a share link.
15
00:00:54,604 --> 00:00:55,739
Select a file.
16
00:00:56,565 --> 00:00:59,458
Share link. pCloud makes
the link right away.
17
00:00:59,852 --> 00:01:01,243
Open its settings.
18
00:01:01,613 --> 00:01:06,817
Add a password, and there it is. Premium
feature. An expiry date is Premium too.
19
00:01:06,857 --> 00:01:10,527
On the free plan, anyone who
gets this link can open it.
20
00:01:13,293 --> 00:01:17,660
pCloud: ten gigabytes if you work through
the list, four of them through friends,
21
00:01:17,700 --> 00:01:19,387
and no password on a free link.
22
00:01:19,987 --> 00:01:24,223
MEGA next. It advertises
twenty gigabytes free.
23
00:01:24,898 --> 00:01:31,145
A brand new free MEGA account. Twenty
gigabytes. That number is real, and it stays.
24
00:01:33,187 --> 00:01:37,050
MEGA offers more, under
Unlock bonus storage.
25
00:01:39,755 --> 00:01:43,926
Five gigabytes at a time, for
installing apps, starting free trials,
26
00:01:43,966 --> 00:01:45,165
or inviting friends.
27
00:01:45,205 --> 00:01:46,961
Now read the line at the top.
28
00:01:47,001 --> 00:01:50,739
Achievements are valid for three
hundred and sixty five days.
29
00:01:50,779 --> 00:01:53,689
A year after you earn
that space, it goes away.
30
00:01:58,758 --> 00:02:01,544
Now the password test. Select the file.
31
00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:03,504
Share link.
32
00:02:08,050 --> 00:02:14,368
Link settings. An expiry date,
Pro only. A password, Pro only.
33
00:02:16,295 --> 00:02:19,865
The one free switch sends
the link's key separately,
34
00:02:19,905 --> 00:02:22,712
so the address alone won't open the file.
35
00:02:22,752 --> 00:02:26,154
A password and an expiry
date are for paid plans.
36
00:02:30,941 --> 00:02:36,472
MEGA: twenty gigabytes that stay,
bonus space that runs out after a year,
37
00:02:36,512 --> 00:02:38,878
and no password on a free link.
38
00:02:39,478 --> 00:02:43,836
Google Drive. It advertises
fifteen gigabytes free.
39
00:02:44,322 --> 00:02:48,980
Here it is. Fifteen gigabytes. The
catch is what counts against it.
40
00:02:50,185 --> 00:02:51,919
Google's own storage page.
41
00:02:51,959 --> 00:02:56,560
That fifteen is shared across Google
Drive, Gmail and Google Photos.
42
00:02:56,600 --> 00:03:01,309
Your email and your phone's photo
backups come out of the same space.
43
00:03:02,974 --> 00:03:05,502
Back to the files for the password test.
44
00:03:07,474 --> 00:03:08,822
Select the file.
45
00:03:09,393 --> 00:03:10,078
Share.
46
00:03:13,565 --> 00:03:15,535
Let anyone with the link open it.
47
00:03:16,717 --> 00:03:21,203
Now look for a password. There
isn't one. No expiry date either.
48
00:03:21,243 --> 00:03:25,768
Who can open it, and what they
can do. That is the whole dialog.
49
00:03:29,994 --> 00:03:34,603
Google Drive: fifteen gigabytes
shared with your email and photos,
50
00:03:34,643 --> 00:03:36,474
and no way to lock a link.
51
00:03:37,074 --> 00:03:42,723
Proton Drive last. It advertises five
gigabytes free, the smallest number here.
52
00:03:43,023 --> 00:03:49,244
A free Proton Drive account. Five gigabytes.
No checklist, and nothing that expires.
53
00:03:49,284 --> 00:03:50,253
Five is five.
54
00:03:50,824 --> 00:03:53,618
The password test. Select the file.
55
00:03:53,991 --> 00:03:57,427
Share, and turn on the public link.
56
00:03:57,961 --> 00:04:00,895
Set password or expiration date.
57
00:04:01,305 --> 00:04:06,851
Two switches. An expiry date, and
a password. Both on the free plan.
58
00:04:07,500 --> 00:04:10,803
Turn on the password, type one, and save.
59
00:04:13,453 --> 00:04:15,965
Open the settings again,
to check it saved.
60
00:04:16,409 --> 00:04:20,925
Require password is on. That link
now needs a password to open.
61
00:04:20,965 --> 00:04:25,666
Of the four free plans, this is
the only one that let me do that.
62
00:04:29,688 --> 00:04:34,547
Proton Drive: the least space of the
four, and the only free link you can lock.
63
00:04:35,147 --> 00:04:36,819
So here is the real picture.
64
00:04:36,859 --> 00:04:40,794
MEGA gives you the most space that
stays yours, twenty gigabytes,
65
00:04:40,834 --> 00:04:43,057
as long as you don't count the bonus.
66
00:04:43,097 --> 00:04:47,888
Google Drive's fifteen is real, but your
email and photos share it. And pCloud?
67
00:04:47,928 --> 00:04:51,863
Its ten is a checklist, and four
of those gigabytes need friends.
68
00:04:51,903 --> 00:04:54,737
And if the files you
share should stay private,
69
00:04:54,777 --> 00:04:59,262
Proton Drive is the only free plan here
that locks a link with a password.
70
00:04:59,302 --> 00:05:04,439
It is also the smallest. So pick by the job:
the most space, or a link you can lock.
71
00:05:05,639 --> 00:05:09,710
Every free plan, side by side,
is on securecloudstorage.com.
72
00:05:09,750 --> 00:05:11,874
The link is in the description.